A Creative Life in Fabric

As Valori Wells says in her book, she grew up in a quilt shop surrounded by fabric and played in her mother’s (Jean Wells) sewing room. How could she not have a life in fabric?

In her latest book My Life in Fabric with Valori Wells, Valori uses a mix of projects and instruction to show you how to use fabric in your life. She shows you how to mix different sewing techniques into your projects, and introduces you to non-traditional techniques such as silk screening at home, block printing, and painting to create truly unique fabric creations. She helps you find new and different ways of creating—it’s not just traditional piecing any more, it is a mixture of sewing, quilting, and art.

The book includes quilts and smaller projects such as stuffed owls made from recycled sweaters, easy-to-make girls’ summer sun dresses, and tool and pencil rolls. Each project includes Valori’s inspiration and also has a “Get Creative” tip to give you ideas of how to make projects your own. Plus, there is lots of Valori’s inspirational photography.

Who (Hoo?) can resist such cute little guys? Make them to use as a door stop (filled with crushed walnut shells) or as a toy (stuffed with polyfill). What a great way to use sweaters that don’t fit any more or are worn beyond use on some places.

And so you can get even more creative, Valori shows you how to paint, print, and screen print on fabric.

Now you can have a life of fabric too.